PC vs Console -- population and cheats?

thecoffeeguy · July 2020

More of a curiosity question than anything else. I am fairly new to ESO (March of this year), but veteran of many MMOs.
This is the first MMO i have played with console support so i find it interesting.
Two questions.

How does the population of PC vs console look like?
Are cheats rampart in PC like a lot of other PC based games? What about consoles?

Appreciate the info.

Cheers!

Gedalya · July 2020

What exactly do you mean by cheating? There have been instances of cheating; exploiting issues in the game, use of bots. There have also been periodic bans en masse; honestly not in recent memory but neither have I seen any issues. I play PvP a lot; and it is not uncommon someone accuses another player of cheating; but it is almost without exception a case of a less skilled player simply being overwhelmed by an experienced player.

mairwen85 · July 2020

thecoffeeguy wrote: »

How does the population of PC vs console look like?

Supposedly it's a near enough 50/50 split. Half on Pc/Mac/Stadia and the other across PS/Xbox.

thecoffeeguy wrote: »

Are cheats rampant in PC like a lot of other PC based games? What about consoles?

Depends who you ask. That said, a lot of anti-cheat methods were implemented server-side, so I guess that means yes.
It's harder to cheat on console as you don't have the same level of access to the system, files, and software, but cheating still happens in the form of modified controllers and other hardware, and the same exploits that people encounter on PC, and of course bots.

Lord-Otto · July 2020

Less cheats and population on console.

Gundug · July 2020

I haven’t played the console version, but there is enough population on PC to feel like there are people around in every zone you visit. During certain times of day it will be quieter. I did notice a number of ex-console players joining my guild over the last several months. They consistently remark that while they miss all the progress they had made on their console accounts, the gameplay experience is much better for them on PC.

I have seen claims of cheating periodically in PVP, both for PC and console, but it doesn’t seem rampant. I think the larger issue is lag, particularly during prime time playing.

thecoffeeguy · July 2020

Gedalya wrote: »

What exactly do you mean by cheating? There have been instances of cheating; exploiting issues in the game, use of bots. There have also been periodic bans en masse; honestly not in recent memory but neither have I seen any issues. I play PvP a lot; and it is not uncommon someone accuses another player of cheating; but it is almost without exception a case of a less skilled player simply being overwhelmed by an experienced player.

Historically, there have always been cheats on PC side right? Due to a number of a factors. Since i am getting my teeth into ESO, was curious what that looks like.
I have already seen "oddness" recently with players standing in a single place, casting an ability every X amount of seconds, probably to get EXP and prevent being logged out.

thecoffeeguy · July 2020

mairwen85 wrote: »

thecoffeeguy wrote: »

How does the population of PC vs console look like?

Supposedly it's a near enough 50/50 split. Half on Pc/Mac/Stadia and the other across PS/Xbox.

thecoffeeguy wrote: »

Are cheats rampant in PC like a lot of other PC based games? What about consoles?

Depends who you ask. That said, a lot of anti-cheat methods were implemented server-side, so I guess that means yes.
It's harder to cheat on console as you don't have the same level of access to the system, files, and software, but cheating still happens in the form of modified controllers and other hardware, and the same exploits that people encounter on PC, and of course bots.

Thanks for the reply. very helpful. I appreciate it.
Good to see they work on preventing what they can.

thecoffeeguy · July 2020

Lord-Otto wrote: »

Less cheats and population on console.

That would have been my guess. Part of the reason I went PC route is because I believe the population is bigger (i could be wrong).

TY

Donny_Vito · July 2020

With how cheap consoles are and given the fact that ESO is basically free on there, I'd love to see how many accounts never made it back lvl 10 or 20, or with less than 25 hours played. Get rid of all those and PC has the higher population hands down. Cheating, well that is an obvious answer which one has more culprits....the master cheating race!

jecks33 · July 2020

i played 3 years on ps4 then 6 months on pc. The population is like "School concert" Vs. "Iron Maiden concert"

ayu_fever · July 2020

cheaters play pc.
lazy gamers play pc. (they dont even play the game. the addons do it for them)

i have more respect for a ps4 gryphon heart than a pc gryphon heart because of the aforementioned reasons.

console life is the best life.

Gedalya · July 2020

thecoffeeguy wrote: »

Gedalya wrote: »

What exactly do you mean by cheating? There have been instances of cheating; exploiting issues in the game, use of bots. There have also been periodic bans en masse; honestly not in recent memory but neither have I seen any issues. I play PvP a lot; and it is not uncommon someone accuses another player of cheating; but it is almost without exception a case of a less skilled player simply being overwhelmed by an experienced player.

Historically, there have always been cheats on PC side right? Due to a number of a factors. Since i am getting my teeth into ESO, was curious what that looks like.
I have already seen "oddness" recently with players standing in a single place, casting an ability every X amount of seconds, probably to get EXP and prevent being logged out.

There are examples yes of people cheating; bots for example in games such as this as well as other well known MMORPGs. Honestly with a console you have a canned product. By contrast you can do quite a bit on a Windows PC, Apple Mac; for someone who is technically inclined, skilled at programming for example, it is more accessible to try and bend the rules in your favor, or change the normal dynamic in your favor.

Regarding odd ball behavior; I would ask said players what they are up to. You will likely learn something new you just are not expecting. I am always happy to answer new player questions so feel free to ping me in the forums or in game.

CherryCake · July 2020

Im was/am on both recently so I can give you a few insights:

Console:

Less people
Not many cheats that Ive seen if close to none
Less guilds, less big active guilds but still enough
Not a huge necessity for discord because of the ingame chat
Easier to farm nodes around without constantly having someone in front of you.

PC:

More people, youll almost always find someone to play with or get your questions answered
I havent noticed any cheats but there are plenty of helpful addons, and if you worry about cheats like on battlefield console vs pc where they can shoot you through the ground then dont worry, its not the same as a shooting game.
Plenty of guilds to choose from but they all require your discord if you want to get into any trials etc (that was the biggest - point for me).
Never truly feeling alone, depending on the zones as well of course, this is also a minus point for me personally.
Graphics and colors are gorgeous comparing to an old ps4.

rrimöykk · July 2020

Donny_Vito wrote: »

With how cheap consoles are and given the fact that ESO is basically free on there, I'd love to see how many accounts never made it back lvl 10 or 20, or with less than 25 hours played. Get rid of all those and PC has the higher population hands down. Cheating, well that is an obvious answer which one has more culprits....the master cheating race!

PS+ is required to play online games so we need to pay it every month. Same as ESO+ if wanted. So, basically it costs around 20 euro per month to play it on console. Not free at all.

Also we have major botting issues on par at least. Some areas are filled with farming bots and nothing seem to work to get rid of them. Cheats? Have seen maybe one in 6 months.

mairwen85 · July 2020

thecoffeeguy wrote: »

mairwen85 wrote: »

thecoffeeguy wrote: »

How does the population of PC vs console look like?

Supposedly it's a near enough 50/50 split. Half on Pc/Mac/Stadia and the other across PS/Xbox.

thecoffeeguy wrote: »

Are cheats rampant in PC like a lot of other PC based games? What about consoles?

Depends who you ask. That said, a lot of anti-cheat methods were implemented server-side, so I guess that means yes.
It's harder to cheat on console as you don't have the same level of access to the system, files, and software, but cheating still happens in the form of modified controllers and other hardware, and the same exploits that people encounter on PC, and of course bots.

Thanks for the reply. very helpful. I appreciate it.
Good to see they work on preventing what they can.

It's sadly an area that can get pretty grey, Special Effect is a charity organisation that builds custom and adapts controllers for people with disabilities and motor problems--believe it or not, there was at one time a bit of a backlash from the gaming community because the same technology used to provide these could be used to create macro-able or programmed 'cheat controllers'; ugly, right? Luckily Logitech and Microsoft have made this endeavour much easier for similar organisations and individuals with such issues.